Conference 2010 Papers
“Conference 2010 Papers”
Themes on Hellenic Language and Culture Contributed to the 15th Annual Educational Forum/Conference of the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture, by the Advisory Council on Hellenic Education of the Hellenic Link, Inc.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
In three sessions of the AFGLC Conference,The Hellenic Link, Inc. had the privilege and the opportunity to bring into focus and discuss several issues, considered pivotal for putting the Greek language and Culture on the road to preservation and blossom in 21st Century America .
1) “Aligning Greek Language Teaching with U.S. National Standards” was the theme presented by Dr. Vasiliki Tsigas-Fotinis. In her paper, Dr. Fotinis deals with the rationale to develop principles of teaching/learning Greek, which would enable the inclusion of Greek in the repertory of foreign languages currently taught in American public and private schools. She also deals with the need to establish criteria for valid training and certification of teachers of Greek. Interestingly for the community of Hellene educators, she came forward with a proposal for a collaborative project to work on the prerequisites as well as for the development of teaching standards applicable to Greek.
An outline of her proposal was available at the service table of the relevant session of the Conference.
2) “Employing Technology as a Conduit to Enhance, Promote and Disseminate Less Commonly Taught Languages: The Case of Modern Greek” (in three parts)
Two presentations on methods combining the use of multimedia and language technologies and tools in language learning were contributed to the program by the Institute for Language and Speech Processing and its Affiliate “Athena” Research Center (respectively directed by Professors Basil Mertzios and George Carayannis). Dr. Frieda Chralabopoulou of the Institute meticulously prepared the two presentations. Unfortunately, she was unable to make the transatlantic trip for the presentation here. Standing in her stead was her colleague and friend, Dr. Maria Hnaraki, who kindly assumed the task. We are indebted to all of them for enriching our program with resourceful ideas and information.
As to the presentations themselves, the two first papers were presented in the context of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), were centered on “filoglossia+” multimedia courseware, addressed to adult learners of Modern Greek with little or no previous knowledge of the language. The aim of the presentation was to present the basic features of this particular course series, which aspires to increase the visibility of the Greek Language worldwide and also to make it available to Greeks of the Diaspora, wishing to solidify ties to their culture, keep the language of their forefathers alive and thus preserve their Hellenic identity.
In the Workshop, four applications addressed to English speaking foreigners who are interested in the Greek language and culture and/or to the Greeks of the Diaspora were presented. The applications, all related to Greek language learning, include (i) filoglossia+(φιλογλωσσία+), a four multimedia CD-ROM series with English language support targeting English-speaking learners of Modern Greek, (ii) XENION lexicon, a bilingual and bi- directional(Greek-English/English-Greek)dictionary and (iii) Nea Logomatheia (Νέα Λογομάθεια) addressed to Greek students of primary and lower secondary education. Regarding the Greek culture, SAPPHO (ΣΑΠΦΩ), a DVD-ROM series which constitutes a thesaurus of knowledge about the Greek islands, was presented.
3) “Tools of Longitudinal Student Exposure to Greek Language and Culture”
Appropriately for the Conference Theme, “Tools of Longitudinal Student Exposure to Greek Language and Culture.” Dr. Nikos Metallinos has talked about From the basis of his Hellenic Studies Unit at Concordia University in Montreal , he has drawn a blue print for upper level graduate studies which will graduate competent Greek teachers for the Canadian and American schools. With support of the administration of his institution and the Hellenic community of Montreal , he plans action for the reversal of the problem of continued decline in Greek school enrollments with the antidote of introducing curricular improvements securing an academic preparation of Greek teachers with solid knowledge and teaching leadership potential.
4) “Modular Teaching of Hellenic Cultural Themes: The Crucial Link Connecting Content and Pedagogy”
Dr. Constantine Hatzidimitriou in his paper has overviewed the evolution of Hellenic Studies in the United States at the elementary, secondary and higher education levels in both private and public institutions. He observed that the prevailing pattern of teaching has been one of isolation, and non-alignment of resources, scholarship and pedagogy, between lower and higher education and between the private and public sectors. He further expressed the view that this non-alignment has resulted in a systemic failure to link the content of Hellenic Studies to major themes and subject matter in the American educational mainstream, especially in context of the public elementary and secondary schools. Citing specific examples, he went on to propose that one way to help reverse this marginalization and decline is to institute a modular approach to teaching core subjects of Hellenic Culture, utilizing solid interdisciplinary links between academic specialists and the sectors of elementary and secondary private and public school systems.
5) “Hellenic Paedeia: College Level Education for High School Students”
In his paper, Dr. Dean Lomis was preoccupied with the concern to be able to associate Greek American youth with the roots of their cultural heritage. For teen age Americans, including Greek-Americans, he envisages a Greek language and culture, college-level education, while they are still in senior high school. The relevant program that he proposes embodies two educational elements: one remedial, familiarizing the student with the Greek language, cultural heritage and ethos, while the second, utilitarian with educational cost-effective characteristics , offers academic credits to enhance their collegiate studies. To review the suggested structure of the program, curriculum distribution, adjunct faculty status and recruitment, tuition and expense arrangements, academic credit, and advanced college placement considerations, reference is made to the paper itself which follows. Success of this program will hinge on the academic institution with a viable Hellenic Studies program, which would provide the focus of leadership and guidance. As such, the USF, the hosting institution for the AFGLC Conference, is recognized by the author and proposed as most appropriate for the implementation of the innovative program.
I should note that all these contributions had as αφετηρία or point of conceptual departure the
Hellenic Education Plan for America (Hellenic Link Inc., New York, 2005), contributing writers of which were among the active participants in the AFGLC Conference. The Hellenic Link, Inc. is very pleased to offer to its members and the community at large the benefit of the ideas and suggestions of the esteemed colleagues who expressed them in detail in these introduced papers.
Constantine J. Efthymiou, PhD
President, Hellenic Link, Inc. and
Coordinator of its Advisory Council on Hellenic Education